By Joseph Steele.
Yes, the humble snag in bread that tastes just a little more sweeter than the Saturday Bunnings sausage sizzle. It’s the culinary cornerstone of Australian democracy, along with its spongey counterpart, the lamington.
It’s the only time every few years when compulsory voting feels less like a duty and more like a delicious excuse to loiter around a barbie in a primary school car park and let’s be honest, it’s part of what makes Australia so great.
You may think that the Democracy Sausage has always been part of the Australian voting tradition, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that polling booths began setting up fundraising stalls – usually by local schools or community groups – to take advantage of a captive crowd. The popularity of the portable gas barbeque added fuel to the culinary flame.
The term ‘Democracy Sausage’ didn’t really take off until 2010 when a ‘Snag Votes’ website listed and mapped the polling places offering the classic sausage in bread – localised to Brisbane. Fast track to 2016 and the humble ‘Democracy Sausage’ had become such an inherent part of the Australian voting lexicon that it was selected by the Australian National Dictionary Centre as word of the year.
A true icon.
Let’s be clear though. This isn’t the time or place for artisanal chorizo or brioche buns. It’s just as much a reflection of Australia’s laxed attitude and humble stock as it is a hefty whack of nostalgia. Soft white bread, the no-fuss sausage - mildly spiced, mildly mysterious - the optional grilled onions (that sparked a national debate as to whether or not they should sit on top or below the sausage for OH&S reasons) and the all-important squiggle of sauce.
For the more progressive booths, you’ll find vegan and vegetarian options, but even the new kids on the block know they are part of something bigger – a communal display of a truly Aussie moment that transcends dietary lines.
The true champions are the volunteers that man every grill, snap every set of tongs and endure a barrage of day-long sausage jokes. Beyond feeding the masses, they’re fuelling the great machinery of democracy, one snag at a time. So, don’t forget to give them a well-deserved thanks.
It’s easy to laugh about the Democracy Sausage (and we absolutely should), but underneath the satire is something genuinely special. Not every country gets to turn up, vote safely and fairly and then casually grab a sausage sandwich outside.
We get the fantastic opportunity to celebrate community while chowing down on a delicious reminder of just how lucky we have it.
It’s a moment where politics pause and everyone can agree on at least one thing: the best votes are the ones followed by a snag.
When you head to the polling station, wear your best thongs, bring your gold coins and remember what we’re really here for: to exercise our democratic right and to honour the sizzling, sauce-dripping, onion-laden tradition that holds the country together.
In Australia, you don’t just cast a vote – you grab a sausage, take a selfie and remind the world that democracy, like a good snag, is worth savouring.
Yes: you absolutely have to Instagram it.
